


009 ♕ Steve Harrington

by blackscanary



Series: Violet Jones series [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016), Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Inspired by Stranger Things (TV 2016), Mutant Powers, POV Original Character, Stranger Things (TV 2016) References, Stranger Things 2, Stranger Things 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:00:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22681360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackscanary/pseuds/blackscanary
Summary: "Memory is a tricky thing. It's never truly gone, a shadow of something once there. A lost memory, always drowning beneath the surface, waiting to come up for air. And when it does, it's like it never left- gripping tightly to never be cast away again." - unknown
Relationships: Steve Harrington & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Violet Jones series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1631617
Kudos: 11





	1. 00

Hawkins was a place were interesting things never happened. It was a small town that was in the middle of nowhere with a small population— this made it difficult to not run into anyone you knew. Perhaps this was why everyone became fixated on Violet's friendship with Nancy, or what was left of it.

The two were inseparable as they grew up, two nerdy children that thought they could change the world together. When Barbara joined their makeshift group, their bond grew stronger. The three of them experienced every milestone together; school dances, first boyfriends, which turned into first breakups and everything in between. They always had one another to rely on through every turmoil, not knowing what they'd do without each other.

Suddenly everything shifted. Violet wanted to blame it all on the disappearance of Barb, that Nancy didn't know how to handle it, but it seemed different. Nancy started to seem too busy, anytime Violet attempted to talk to her, her mind seemed elsewhere. The teen soon noticed she was the only one reached out, and after enough messaged relayed from Mrs. Wheeler, Violet stopped trying.

It wasn't all bad, Violet got to focus a lot on herself that summer. She had a summer job that allowed her to answer phones at Hawkins' Hospital, this was mostly due to the pull her parents' had from their jobs at Hawkins' Laboratory.

However, she couldn't deny how alone she felt— without Barb and Nancy, Violet had no one else. She couldn't shake the feeling of loneliness, it reminded her of childhood. The teen couldn't remember much before fifth grade, but what she could recall was an overwhelming feeling of fear and isolation. It was something she never let bother her, but with Violet by herself most of the day, her thoughts ran wild. Violet never questioned her childhood, too worried she'd get answers she never wanted.

Until when, one Halloween night a certain Steve Harrington shows up to her house out of the blue—drunk and looking for advice. Violet would never have guessed a boy she barely knew, and a few pieces of advice, would lead to the answers of her childhood she secretly longed for.


	2. 01

Violet attempted to drown the windy Halloween night with the sounds of the movie she rented for the night. Curled under a blanket, her hand gripped tightly on the bowl of popcorn placed on her lap. A soft knock lulled the teens attention away from the movie, a moment of hesitation to wonder if it was even worth to get. She heaved a soft sigh out, the popcorn placed softly on the coffee table in front of her.

The wood creaked under her weight, her bare skin chilled against the cold floor. Violet gripped the curtain to peer out the window, her eyebrows creased at the sight of Steve Harrington. Violet reached up to unlock the door, her thoughts raced on why he was on her front steps, the pair only spoke to one another when forced to.

"What do you—"

Violet was cut off with her own shock, her eyes watched as Steve walked into her house without an invitation. She bit the remark that bubbled in her mind, no matter how tempted she was to speak it. She replaced the words with an annoyed huff, her attention diverted back to Steve.

"You know Nancy better than anyone right?" Steve asked, his voice louder than Violet would've liked. "Oh, sorry," he whispered out once he noticed the pointed look she sent him.

"I don't talk to Nancy anymore," Violet explained. She watched Steve as he paced around the room, her arms boredly crossed over her chest.

"You were talking to her in school yesterday?"

"Yes, Steve, I'm civil with her. I don't talk to her outside of school, that's how mature people handle things."

"Why?"

"Because we drifted apart and neither of us tried to become friends again— aren't you her boyfriend? Shouldn't you know these things?"

She watched Steve hesitate, it was the only time she saw his confidence waver. Now it made sense. Violet didn't appreciate how he barged into her house, but she felt sympathetic towards the boy.

"So you guys broke up?" She asked. In the back of her mind she knew she should've changed the subject, but the silence made her uncomfortable.

"No, we just got into a fight."

"About what? If you don't mind me asking."

"She called our relationship bullshit, that we were pretending to be in love."

Steve sat next to Violet on the couch, the girl migrated back under the blanket from the cold air. Her gaze was soft as she looked at him, however, she sat uncomfortably next to him. His head hung low in defeat, Violet wasn't sure how to approach the situation— she was never good with other people's feelings, especially someone she wasn't close to.

"Do you think she meant it?" Steve asked. His voice wavered slightly, almost unnoticeable.

"I-I don't know Steve."

"She was drunk, but don't they say drunken words are sober thoughts?"

"Do you really want to end your relationship off a saying?" Violet's voice was noticeably unsure, worried she would over step in her attempts to help. "I think," she started slowly, "I think you should talk to her. Not only to hear her side, but because you deserve an explanation." Violet was grateful to see Steve nod along to her words.

"Okay, I'll talk to her."

She watched Steve stand up and head towards the door. Violet followed behind him slowly.

"Oh, you didn't have to walk me to your door," Steve explained when he noticed Violet behind him.

"I just need to lock the door behind you." She admitted sheepishly.

"Right, well thanks for the advice. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

Violet shut the door once she saw Steve drive away. The teen ran up to her room with her thoughts full, the bowl of popcorn left on the table, forgotten.


	3. 02

Violet felt, for lack of better words, off during the school day. A nightmare caused the teen's thoughts to cloud, it showed mostly in her silence during class discussions that usually caught her full attention. She was more focused on the image of the laboratory that burned in her mind, how her fear heightened at the familiar face of the older man in her dreams. Violet had tried most of the day to remind herself it was just a dream, that she could forget about it—but something inside her held onto it tightly, as if the sense of déjà vu caused her to hold on to recall why it felt so familiar. Perhaps her mind saw it as a forgotten memory.

She currently found herself in between classes, her feet dragged against the floor as she walked in the halls. They felt busier than usual, Violet could feel the minor headache that began to form due to the loud chatter amongst her peers. With a loud sigh, she fixed her gaze to the floor and picked up her pace. Getting from one point to another felt like an accomplishment, it seemed like one of those days Violet had to praise herself for the small things. It made it a little easier to get through the day.

Her blood ran cold as hands gripped around her shoulders tightly—her entire body stiffened as she shut her eyes tightly in fear of what would happen next. Her mind thought back to the guard, who invoked complete terror inside of her as she thought back to the dark room he locked her inside in her dream.

It took her a second to realize she had been caught up in the moment, that the guard wasn't real and couldn't hurt her. Violet turned around to face Steve as she calmed herself down, who smiled without realization of the mini panic he had just caused her. She watched him take in her wide, fearful eyes and quickly cut his laughter short.

"Woah, uh, I really scared you," Steve explained, "like you look terrified Violet."

"Yeah, you really got me." A silence fell between the two. Steve seemed unsure of his next move towards Violet, while she was too embarrassed to speak. She could tell he felt some sort of guilt for shocking her the way he did. Violet held in her annoyance, she knew he had a few things that went on in his personal life that more than likely clouded his own thoughts.

After a few moments of silence passed, Violet mustered up as much of a smile as she could and asked "so what's up?" She watched Steve snap out of his thoughts, finally remembered there was a point to seeing her.

"Right, uh, well I wanted to tell you I talked to Nancy not too long ago—It was actually during the last class," Steve explained quickly. Violet raised an eyebrow at his actions, she was quick to see how frantic his movements were and how he seemed as if he couldn't sit still. He looked nervous.

"Alright," Violet started off slowly, "and how did that go?" She watched his worried expression turn into a grimace while he looked at her. "Okay, so not well."

"Yeah, I may have called Johnathan her other boyfriend and called us bullshit like she did."

"Steve—"

"I know, I screwed up." Steve let out a frustrated sigh and ran his hand through his hair, Violet watched his gaze look all over the room. "I want to fix this, but I'm not sure how... do you think I should get her flowers?"

"Yeah, I'd think she'd like that." Violet looked at Steve as her thoughts ran wild, which seemed to go unnoticed by him. Something felt different about the boy and she couldn't place what it was.

"Okay, flowers." Steve smiled as he began to walk away. Violet watched with furrowed eyebrows as she stopped and turned to look back at her. "Are you okay?" She froze for a moment, Violet didn't realize that Steve caught onto her unusual behavior so quickly. 

"Uhm, yeah I'm–I'm just a little tired, didn't get much sleep last night," Violet rambled out.

"Are you too tired for your next class? I could just tell your teacher and grab the work for you, you know, so you can catch up on sleep," Steve told her, "and I could just drop it off after school." Violet was shocked at how quick he offered to help out, and stared at him for a moment. "What?" He asked after a few moments of silence passed.

"You'd do that for me?"

Steve shrugged as if the behavior was expected, "I mean, we're friends," he told her. Violet nodded along to his words, despite the belief she held that he didn't like her not too long ago.

"Right," Violet agreed, "but it's fine I can suffer through it."

"Alright, see you around." She watched Steve walk away, not being able but to notice how much he had changed from the previous year. Especially with how quickly he owned up to his mistakes, rather than justify it. Almost as if he actually wanted to fix it, rather than make the problem go away. With a small shrug, Violet walked away with a small smile on her features. The dream seemingly gone for now.

♕

As the school day finally ended for Violet, she rushed home and collapsed onto her couch in exhaustion once she entered the door.

"Violet, is that you dear?" Her mom called out from the kitchen. Violet's eyes shot open and became fixed onto the ceiling in hopes that the cracks of the paint would keep her distracted enough to stay awake for the conversation.

"Yeah, it's me," Violet finally yelled back with a huff.

"Oh good, you're home just in time." Her mom explained as she walked out of the kitchen, "Mrs. Henderson called, she had to pick up an extra shift at work and asked if you could babysit Dustin tonight."

She didn't answer, mostly because part of her believed if she didn't acknowledge the statement then she wouldn't have to move from her spot on the couch. Even though it was far from the truth. It wasn't that she disliked babysitting Dustin, he was an easy kid to get along with, Violet just had too long of a day to have the energy to deal with him. It didn't help that her Honor Society meeting ran later than she had hoped, which caused her to get home as the sun setted and cause her more exhaustion.

"Violet?"

The teen let out a deep breath and pulled her arm out from underneath her to look at the watch. She recalled what time the boy finished his after school activities, and if he wasn't already home Violet would meet him at the door if she left now. It wasn't her first time, since they lived close to one another Mrs. Henderson always asked for Violet to look after Dustin once she turned thirteen. Despite wanting to do anything but, she heaved herself off the couch and got ready to leave the house.

"The spare key is in it's usual spot and she said she left a twenty on the counter for pizza. And, Violet?"

"Yeah?" Violet asked, her hand hovered towards the door as she waited to leave.

"I just wanted to let you know your dad and I are going to my parents' tonight so call them if you need anything."

It wasn't long before Violet was able to get out the door and began her walk to the Hendersons' household. The two weren't far apart, just a small area of trees in between one another. A ten minute walk at most. The younger girl noticed quickly that her attention seemed to be on alert, as if she subconsciously felt something dangerous close by. Violet quickened her pace as her heart began to echo in her ears. She now regretted taking that way while it was dark out.

A low growl diverted her attention, her head raised to see a four-legged creature with it's back turned to her. At first glance she assumed it to be a dog, but the green skin under a coat of slime made her retract the thought. It seemed distracted enough for Violet to get away if she were quiet enough.

Violet slowly walked backwards and created distance between her and the creature with a shaky step. She froze as a twig snapped underneath her weight. The panic built inside of her, everything seemed to move slowly as the creature turned its attention on her. Violet's blood ran cold as its mouth opened up and growled at her. Whatever was in front of her wasn't something normal, its mouth seemed to have slits that ran all the way to it's jaw and when it opened its mouth it almost looked like the petals of a lily flower (if you ignore the creatures many teeth).

She quickened her pace as she continued to walk backwards, too afraid to turn her back on what was in front of her when the creature lowered in what she could only assume was an attacking stance. But, before it could move towards her, Violet watched as it freezed and turned its head away from her—as if something called out to it. With one more terrifying glance towards her, it ran off.

Once the creature was out of sight, Violet ran the rest of the way to Dustin's. When she arrived at the household, she didn't question why Dustin was with Steve due to her state of panic.

"I just saw what I thought was a dog, but then it was green and—"

"Violet? What are you doing here?" Steve asked. She observed how his voice sounded strained, as if he wanted her to be anywhere else.

"I could ask you the same question."

"I'm Dustin's babysitter," Steve quickly shot out.

"How weird, so am I." Violet crossed her arms over her chest and gave Steve a stern look.

"Dude, you need a babysitter at twelve years old?" Steve asked, his attention now focused on Dustin, whose face turned red in embarrassment.

"I'm thirteen and I don't need a babysitter." The younger boy huffed out as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"If you don't need one then—"

"Okay can we get back to the weird slimy dog looking creature I just saw?" Violet interjected impatiently. She didn't have the time to listen to them bicker back and forth.

"Is it close by?" Dustin asked Violet, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"I mean, it was, but it ran off."

Violet looked between the two boys as they shared a knowing look between another and rushed towards the basement. As her body finally began to calm down, Violet couldn't help but notice how odd her current situation was—the fact Steve seemed to be hanging out with a middle schooler willingly seemed out of character for the boy. Her eyebrows furrowed when she turned and finally saw that the bat Steve propped against his shoulder had spikes through it. Questions raced through her mind as she followed the two into the basement.

When Steve turned the light on, Violet's face lifted in disgust as he picked up a pile of slimy, snake-like skin off the ground. She noted how it seemed to be the same size as the creature she saw not too long ago. Her attention turned to Steve, who looked back at her with a worried expression. She was in disbelief that Steve didn't seem as shocked as she did, as if he knew something she didn't. The situation started to not sit right with Violet.

"Steve, look." Dustin's words diverted the pair's attention from one another. Violet's eyes went wide when she noticed a large hole in the cement wall of the basement. Dustin and Steve shared another look between one another, as if they were able to communicate that way.

"Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?"


End file.
